Splitting bills in restaurant

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

faceman

I've never requested a split bill however it's entirely normal in other countries. I'm in the US a lot and many restaurants ask groups if they want split bills. Its normal and always hassle free.

The closest I've come to a split bill in Ireland is when I'm with out with a few people and we all pay by card. We ask restaurant to put 50% on one card and 50% on the other. Never had an issue doing that in Ireland. We're more and more becoming a cashless society.

El_Duderino 09

faceman wrote:

What's the alternative? Server comes to table 8 seperate times with 8 seperate drinks? Best of luck to that server keeping their job.

Isn't that exactly what happens when you order from the bar? One server, serves each customer individually. As far as I now they keep their jobs.

If you're saying there aren't enough staff to serve each customer individually, they the restaurant needs more staff which need to be factored into overheads. Alternatively they can acknowledge that they offer a lower standard of service and make it clear to the customer we to avoid confusion.

Mary63

Oh,i wasnt asked to pay forty euros because I made sure i had just water.I have been caught before though,one time for seventy euros for a horrible meal and other peoples drink.That was the time I said never again,one woman ordered two cocktails and didnt offer the twenty euros for them.She told me she always orders the dearest food option on the menu too if the bill is being split.

El_Duderino 09

Fred Swanson wrote:

People really need to choose their dining partners more carefully.

Yes and no. Don't hang out with stingy people but dont exclude people on a budget who pay their way, just because they can't afford to chip in for other people's expensive food and drinks.

Class divides happen for all kinds of reasons. Laziness among service providers is a terrible reason for people separating themselves by income

andekwarhola

Used to work in a restaurant years ago and it's *really* inconvenient for a busy restaurant to allow a large table to all pay separately at the desk.

If people that eat out with a group are too stingy to just split a bill between the number there and pay with one amount, don't accept the invitation.

I've sat in a restaurant before with people arguing about only having this and that and it's possibly the most mortifying and childish thing on earth. I'd never invite them again or think twice about attending if they were there.

Sleeper12

andekwarhola wrote:

I've sat in a restaurant before with people arguing about only having this and that and it's possibly the most mortifying and childish thing on earth.

And its the tip that suffers because someone isn't owning up to their full share

Nesser

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Class divides happen for all kinds of reasons. Laziness among service providers is a terrible reason for people separating themselves by income

And Irish restaurants in my opinion contribute to class division by making it more complicated and difficult for people to pay for what they order.

Say someone for who money is tight is asked to a group meal. He could go and pay for just a main course and have water. Cost €15 and a good evening. However if he suspects that loads of drinks will be ordered and the bill will be split because the restaurant is too lazy to do seperate billing then he could be caught for a bill of€70. Outside his budget so instead of going he cancels and stays at home. Sure he could make a big show of insisting he only pays for what he had but this is embarrassing and makes him look stingy.

brightspark

andekwarhola wrote: »

Used to work in a restaurant years ago and it's *really* inconvenient for a busy restaurant to allow a large table to all pay separately at the desk.

And I'm sure it's "really" inconvenient that everyone at the table orders different food, wouldn't it be much easier if you could just serve them all the same food e.g. vegetable soup, roast beef with potatoes and cheesecake for dessert, with everyone having a regular coffee and a mint?

Nesser

andekwarhola wrote: »

If people that eat out with a group are too stingy to just split a bill between the number there and pay with one amount, don't accept the invitation.

What you are really saying is that you are only prepared to socialize with people who are on the same socio-economic level as you that have the same level of disposable income. That associating with the lower classes on a budget is embarrassing and mortifying because they might have an issue with playing towards your fancy dessert., Starter, coffees and cocktails

bigpink

So would you pay extra for something you didnt have?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

El_Duderino 09

Fred Swanson wrote:

No way in hell would I subsidise a persons drinking/expensive tastes.

Do your choices are to order at least as much as the most expensive order at the table, all order the same value if meal, or split the bill so you pay for what you ordered.

I know which one I would go for.

Nesser

Fred Swanson wrote: »

No way in hell would I subsidise a persons drinking/expensive tastes.

I've been at group meals where because of the Irish restaurant system my "share" of the bill has been €50 when the cost of what I actually had was €20. I've never made an issue of it because I have plenty of money but think it unfair that Irish restaurants force this system on groups when it doesn't suit everybody. Charging people for what they have would be far better in my opinion .

faceman

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Isn't that exactly what happens when you order from the bar? One server, serves each customer individually. As far as I now they keep their jobs.

If you're saying there aren't enough staff to serve each customer individually, they the restaurant needs more staff which need to be factored into overheads. Alternatively they can acknowledge that they offer a lower standard of service and make it clear to the customer we to avoid confusion.

Hire more staff rather than train existing servers how to work out a bill split off the one bill makes no sense

bigpink

Irish restaurants need to step up to it.A place that does this no problem would get group bookings alot more

Turtle_

andekwarhola wrote: »

I've sat in a restaurant before with people arguing about only having this and that and it's possibly the most mortifying and childish thing on earth. I'd never invite them again or think twice about attending if they were there.

Well maybe that person didn't want to subsidise everyone else's meal if they ate and drank substantially different things...

Why the shame on that person? Why not shame on the others trying to land someone with the cost of their alcohol or fillet steak?

It's not difficult, it's very easy to look at a menu online in advance and get a rough idea of how much it'll cost you and take out enough cash to cover your own share plus tip.

I'd actually be mortified if I had expensive food and drink and someone on a tight budget felt they had to split equally even if they had cheaper food and drink. I'm eating out with them to enjoy the time together, not to have them subsidise a nice meal for me.

El_Duderino 09

faceman wrote:

Hire more staff rather than train existing servers how to work out a bill split off the one bill makes no sense

How restaurants organise their staff is their business. If they don't have enough staff to meet customer needs, then they haven't organised their staff well. That's a fair observation to make on trip advisor.

GingerLily

I always split the bill for food and pay for the alcohol that I've drunk. I'll add on tip, more generous if I feel my food might have been pricier.

Don't get the fillet steak, don't get the lobster curry, and if someone didn't get a starter / dessert let them chip in less.

If I don't have cash I'll ask to put XX amount on my card. I assume that's the norm?

Nesser

GingerLily wrote: »

I always split the bill for food and pay for the alcohol that I've drunk. I'll add on tip, more generous if I feel my food might have been pricier.

Don't get the fillet steak, don't get the lobster curry, and if someone didn't get a starter / dessert let them chip in less.

. I assume that's the norm?

Sadly it is because of the way restaurants here choose to operate. But it's very messy and complicated.

Get what you want and pay for what you had would be far far better system.

Help!!!!

When I eat out with friends, if the bill is €100 & 5 people, everyone pays €20 no matter what they've had. Dont understand the whole adding up to a cent

irelandrover

Help!!!! wrote: »

When I eat out with friends, if the bill is €100 & 5 people, everyone pays €20 no matter what they've had. Dont understand the whole adding up to a cent

The issue is if someone ate 60 euro of food and everyone else at 10 euro worth of food each. Especially if its the same every time you go out.

El_Duderino 09

Help!!!! wrote:

When I eat out with friends, if the bill is €100 & 5 people, everyone pays €20 no matter what they've had. Dont understand the whole adding up to a cent

20 quid each is fairly small and could only include a drink or 2, so most people would feel awkward saying if it went over their budget. Some bills can run into big money. Particularly if some people know they can eat and drink what they like and get others to subsidise it.

Help!!!!

irelandrover wrote: »

The issue is if someone ate 60 euro of food and everyone else at 10 euro worth of food each. Especially if its the same every time you go out.

Yeah but usually your out with friends, surely its not that hard if its done a second time to call that person out on it. If not then dont invite them again. Eating out with friends is meant to be a nice time, not eat/drink/squabble over who pays what

Yourself isit

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

People can't afford to buy big rounds anymore. It's not like the olden days where people had nothing else to spend money on other than pints, a blanket and straw for a pillow.

If you don't split the bill then really only people on similar income or people who sent on a tight budget can eat and drink out together. Restaurants and pubs provide a service and a place for people to socialise. Its a small part if how customer demands have changed.

Some businesses keep up with customer demands and the rest aren't around to comment.

There's little demand for this. If the customers don't want to split evenly they don't have to. One can put in €10 for the salad and the other €16 for the steak.

Yourself isit

GingerLily wrote: »

I always split the bill for food and pay for the alcohol that I've drunk. I'll add on tip, more generous if I feel my food might have been pricier.

Don't get the fillet steak, don't get the lobster curry, and if someone didn't get a starter / dessert let them chip in less.

If I don't have cash I'll ask to put XX amount on my card. I assume that's the norm?

Do you measure the alcohol intake of all diners?

El_Duderino 09

Yourself isit wrote:

There's little demand for this. If the customers don't want to split evenly they don't have to. One can put in €10 for the salad and the other €16 for the steak.

Little demand for splitting bills? it's the subject of the thread.

It is was that simple there wouldn't be a problem.

road_high

I never bother with these big group meal situations any more after being stung a few times with the bill spilt evenly- where I've had no starter/dessert/wine whereas the table mouthpieces have had the works (plus loads of wine) where other people end up paying for it. Fecked if I'm paying for someone I don't know from Adam to have a big meal at my expense!

El_Duderino 09

Help!!!! wrote:

Yeah but usually your out with friends, surely its not that hard if its done a second time to call that person out on it. If not then dont invite them again. Eating out with friends is meant to be a nice time, not eat/drink/squabble over who pays what

I wish I only ate out with small groups of friends. In reality eating out is a social activity. We eat out with all kinds of friends, family, colleagues, friends of friends etc.

amtc

I go out fairly regularly with three different friends...we just rotate who pays